As promised, here is a photo of the mountain turning green. The bottommost layer is a fine fuzz of green grasses and wildflowers. Above that, the brush–bursage, brittle bush, and creosote–are all coming out with their leaves, filling in the space around the perennial spots of green, the cacti.

Unfortunately, all this green is being helped along by a hot sun. I will (grudgingly) accept the arrival of shorts weather in March, but for the remaining 13 days in February, I want to be able to take a morning hike in pants and a t-shirt without overheating.